Dial Tone
by Liv-x-Case-Benson
Summary: Olivia sighed. "I should hang up, forget you called." "Yes, you should, so why haven't you?" One-Shot


**Dial Tone**

By: Liv-x-Lex4Ever

She ran down a dark street, slipping and crashing to her knees in a puddle of water, bloodying her knuckles on impact. The young girl was inches from her hand before being yanked away into a van. _Why is it always a black van?_ She wondered as the drizzle progressed to a downpour.

The girl's vibrant, blue, terrified eyes were inside her head whenever she closed her own, her scream like nails on a chalkboard as she struggled to get away, but couldn't. Reaching out to her – the one who said everything would be alright as long as she was there – only to grasp air.

She'd given her word, never trying to break it, but damn it that was what she always did and there were always instances where this happened, where it seemed useless because the child would either be snatched from her grasp or…

Her blue eyes flashed through her mind again, waking her as she sat up in bed. Olivia looked at her scraped up, still blood-stained knuckles and sighed. She'd tried, so hard, to keep her safe, but life didn't always work out like she wanted it to, especially her life it seemed.

She hated – no, she _loathed_ hate wasn't strong enough – the statistics in kidnapping cases. Twelve, twenty-four, forty-eight, seventy-two…

Something told her she'd missed her chance when she'd slipped in the street, pounding the blacktop as the fall had taken away her first instinct-to grab her gun at the first available moment, point it and pull the damn trigger. _But,_ her mind always saw both sides when children were involved, _he could've used her as a shield. But he didn't, did he?_ Her conscience told her. _You lost your chance._

She sighed. Ever since the event her judgment had been lacking, _severely_. She ran a hand through her short hair. She couldn't just forget what had happened! No one could. It was such a low blow_. _

_It could've been lower,_ her conscience told her, _be grateful._

She was grateful, very grateful she hadn't lost a wonderful friend a year ago, but even now it haunted her. Sure, her instincts were what, more than likely, saved Alex's life, but she always wondered what would've happened if she'd convinced her not to go out with them. Her life would've been at risk inevitably, but still.

She rubbed her eyes, taking a drink from her water bottle before setting it back beside the bed. She'd been so exhausted – physically, mentally, emotionally – that when she'd reached her apartment she'd kicked off her shoes, trudged back to her bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, jacket still on and everything.

She pushed the covers back, discarding her work clothes on the floor before pulling on a tank top and shorts, then going into the bathroom and rinsing the dried blood off her knuckles.

As she walked back into her bedroom, her thoughts drifted to Alex, as had happened on numerous occasions. Sitting back on her bed, she grabbed her phone from her bedside table. She opened it, scrolling through her contacts, hitting Alex's. She knew the number wouldn't 'technically' exist anymore, but just seeing her name, that golden blonde hair and those piercing blue eyes, calmed her down more than she ever thought possible.

Standing, she pulled back the sheet and blanket, holding the phone securely in her grasp, and climbing in and covering up.

Glancing at the picture ID on the open phone, Olivia laid her head against the pillow again, hoping this time sleep would come without the haunts from the current case.

* * *

What seemed mere minutes after finally falling asleep, she felt her phone vibrate in her hand, waking her. Eyes snapping open, she saw the call was restrited.

She yawned. "Benson?" silence was on the other end for a moment. "Hello?"

"Liv?" she asked softly.

She sat up like there was a gun at her head. "Alex? Oh my God. Is-is it really, really you?" she asked, her voice cracking from emotion.

She sighed wearily. "Yes, how are you?"

Her mind was going through a thousand things. "Y-you shouldn't…Alex, its-its dangerous."

"I know, but I just had to call. Hear your voice," she replied softly. "I'll face the consequences. I don't care."

Olivia moved to sit against the wall. "Why call now? Not that I'm upset…"

"I needed a familiar voice to let me know I'm not going insane. I can't talk about anything here. I…"

Olivia sighed. "I should hang up, forget you called."

"Yes, you should, so why haven't you?"

"I guess I'm a little shy of going back to sleep. The case we're working…" she replied, rubbing her face.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Nothing . . . how's your shoulder?"

Alex sighed again. "Healed, but I have my good and bad days." She smiled. "Liv, what's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Just surprised to hear from you."

"You're lying," she accused. "Tell me."

Olivia sighed. "Alex, you don't want to hear about this case. Its really not different from all the other kidnappings…really."

"Something's different."

She closed her eyes, sighing, before answering, "Her eyes, they're just like yours. She was terrified. I promised to keep her safe, but I couldn't! Just like I couldn't keep you safe!"

"But I am safe, Liv, I am. I'm—"

"—Over a thousand miles away, Alex! **I** didn't see the car! **I** didn't see the gun! Me, me, me, me! It's my fault you're gone!" she ranted.

Alex sighed, then remained silent as Olivia finished the tirade she'd probably kept locked inside for a year. She could hear her voice shaking, breaking like it had that night. The night she left. The one time she'd ever seen Olivia cry while she stood there without a drop of sorrow in her eyes or regret in her voice. "Olivia," she whispered softly, "it wasn't your fault, okay?"

She wiped her eyes. "How can you say that? Of course it was! If I had been paying attention…"

"I would still be here, waiting. They took me away then for the assassination attempt. They were planning on placing me in Witness Protection anyway. The situation got as dire as it could possibly get. That was what I was told when I woke up in the hospital with my arm in a sling."

"How did you manage to stay in town to see us?"

She laughed quietly. "I refused to leave until I saw _you_ again. Told you your efforts were worth it. Liv, I-I couldn't leave with you thinking I'd died…not after what you did for me."

Olivia honestly had to resist the urge to say it was nothing. "Its work," she replied instead. "My job."

Alex smiled. "Well, it felt like more than a job that night."

"Yeah . . . to me too." Then the line was silent for a few moments and Olivia wondered if she'd fallen asleep. "Alex?" she asked curiously.

"I miss you," she answered. "Every single day. I-I keep hoping I can come back. It hurts."

"Hurts?"

"Not being able to work my true profession. Not being around you every day," she sighed.

"I miss you too. I hope you come back soon," Olivia said.

"If at all."

She shook her head. "Don't be like that. Sooner or later, you'll be back."

Alex yawned.

"Been up all night, have you?"

"Mmm, no, just a few hours. It-its so good to hear your voice, Liv, but I need to go soon."

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you call again?" Olivia asked hopefully.

She sighed. "I'll try. Oh, and Olivia?"

"What?"

"I love you."

That was the last thing Olivia heard before the dial tone.

**THE END**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Just a little something that came to me last night. One-shot, **no** continuation.

Thanks to my Beta:**Tiger(dot)Lily(dot)Weasley(dot)757**

Please read & review!

**Liv-x-Lex4Ever**


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